MLB tells federal court it rejected A's move to San Jose in June

By Matt Snyder | Baseball Writer

December 7, 2013 12:19 PM ET

The A's will continue to play in front of fans at O.co Coliseum for the time being. (USATSI)

For the better part of recent memory, the Oakland Athletics have been desperately trying to find a way to build a new stadium, and for a while San Jose has been their best hope. That plan, however, has been hampered by a territorial dispute with the Giants and it appears it won't be happening.

The city of San Jose filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball in order to stop MLB from preventing the move. The lawsuit is in process, but documents show that MLB claims commissioner Bud Selig denied the A's move to San Jose formally on June 17 of this year and called the ruling his final decision.

In fact, MLB denied the Athletics' relocation request on June 17, 2013, one day before this lawsuit was filed. On that date, Commissioner Selig formally notified the Athletics' ownership that he was not satisfied with the club's relocation proposal.

The sole basis of Plaintiffs' only claims that remain after the MTD Order -- the purported failure of MLB to render a decision within the initial two-year term of the Option Agreement -- is therefore meritless.

The A's have extended their lease with O.co Coliseum in Oakland through the 2015 season, but they still need a long-term solution. Considering they've been trying to move to San Jose for around five years and haven't made much progress with convincing MLB -- and now we know that MLB flat-out rejected the idea -- it sounds like they may need a new gameplan.